This invention relates to the installation of devices such as measuring instruments, sensors, conduits or the like from a remote location. For example, it is at times necessary to install flowmeters in sewer pipes but it is not desirable for the installer to enter the manhole and make such installation by placing his or her hands directly in the sewer pipe.
In one class of mounting apparatus, a metal expansion ring forms a cylinder slightly smaller in diameter than the sewer pipe when compressed but larger when expanded and having sufficient resilience to press against the wall of the pipe. If cylindrical, its slant height or length along the pipe is between six inches and two feet depending on the device that is to be held in place. Tabs may be cut in the bottom to hold a mounting fixture for the particular device that is to be mounted within the sewer pipe.
One method of installing devices remotely using this mounting apparatus is to: (1) fasten the device to a circular metal expansion ring sized to form a cylinder having a larger diameter than the sewer pipe when the expansion ring is expanded but able to have its ends compressed together to form a cylinder having a smaller diameter than the sewer pipe; (2) place the compressed expansion ring with the device attached within it in a sewer pipe while the expansion ring is compressed; and (3) permit the expansion ring to expand against the walls of the pipe with sufficient pressure to be held in place by frictional forces. With this procedure, the device is mounted within the sewer pipe.
In a prior art mounting method and apparatus of this class, the expansion ring contains no implement that permits it to be compressed and released from a distance. Thus, to install the expansion ring with a device attached to it, the ring must be compressed by hand and inserted into the sewer pipe from the immediate vicinity of the sewer pipe.
This type of prior art mounting method and apparatus has several disadvantages such as for example: (1) the expansion ring must be handled with the installer's hands to compress it and insert it in the sewer from the proximity of the sewer pipe, although this may require the installer to enter a manhole; (2) the installation procedure may be dangerous because of toxic materials in the sewer and manhole; (3) the procedure may be expensive since safety procedures require at least two people to be on site when someone enters a manhole; and (4) the procedure is time consuming and commonly requires special equipment for the installer to enter the manhole.